Chapter 1: Thief in the Night
Raise You Like a Phoenix
By Gapeagle
Just a decade longer...
Princess Celestia sighed a long sigh as she stared at the glowing moon that watched over the kingdom of Equestria. The imprint of her sister returned a deathly gaze, motionless and unchanging. The stars that surrounded the moon twinkled quietly as they too mourned the event that happened almost 1000 years ago.
"Even though life should seem so quick for me, it has been nothing but the slowest climb. Now the years between you and me reuniting once more are dwindling, but the years are getting longer as well."
After imagining her sister's response, Celestia drooped her head and returned to the palace from her balcony. At such a late hour, her vast palace was empty, except for a few Royal Guards who tried to stay awake. As the princess passed her bed, she realized that she was not tired in the slightest. She had to raise the sun the next morning, but centuries of moving the heavens twice a day had built considerable amounts of stamina. She didn't need an extra hour of sleep.
"Well, better get the energy out of me," she said aloud.
With that, she decided to take a stroll through the mighty palace. It was not the first time she had done this and she knew it wouldn't be the last. Once she left her room, the large halls welcomed her presence quietly. The few torches that were still lit sang their small songs of fire. The many pony statues that lined the empty halls seemed to bow at her passing. Although it seemed like this, Celestia knew it was the memories of her younger self imagining their loyal moments.
With accidental grace, she took the steps to a lower level of the palace. She wanted to sing an elegant tune, but she resisted the urge for the sake of those who were resting that night. Thus, only her hoofsteps made the slightest of sounds.
The bottom of the steps ended with a door that led to the throne room. The palace was so easy to navigate that it made life too easy for Celestia. She now wished the place was complex so that it would be hard to end up at her throne which was nothing more to her than a simple desk. It symbolized all the boring aspects of life that she constantly wished would be interrupted for something exciting.
Despite this feeling, she approached the throne. The stain glass windows, of which no new ones existed, glanced her way nonchalantly. Each one of them was hundreds of years old, depicting the valiant scenes and events of a time long passed. Their only purpose was to remind ponies and her that catastrophes and heroes do exist or, at least, existed at one time.
Her graceful hoof met the clean marble of the throne. There was nothing more to do than just inspect the symbol of her power and boredom. Some nights she would sit in it and practice on how wise she would be in the following morning. She would simulate an argument with a noble or politician. With her years in Equestria, she knew that everypony would say the same things. The modern ponies thought that they think differently from the ponies of old, but the reality was that ponies think the same in all ages, just some minor differences are created along the way. So she knew how to combat their foolish attempts at arguing with her.
However, tonight was not going to be like one of those nights. There was no urge to debate with impatient phantoms of her creation. So she turned away from the throne and headed towards the front of the palace through the large double doors at the end of the throne room's hallway.
"This quietness is killing me!" she loudly whispered. "Every night is the same. Every day too for that-"
She paused suddenly as she spied a black lump in the dark hallway. The lump was next to one of the many high columns that held up the arched ceiling above. Celestia raised a startled brow at the mysterious mass that was clearly not supposed to be there. Her hooves made a few cautious steps towards the lump.
As she approached, the moonlight from one of the windows glimmered off of the lump. This made the princess gasp as she knew instantly what the lump was.
"My poor Guard!" she exclaimed.
She rushed over to the downed Royal Guard. She knew he wasn't sleeping as they trained themselves to sleep while standing up to avoid instant detection. Her magic took hold of him and flipped him around to face her. His eyes were shut and his mouth was opened lamely. Though shocked by this find, Celestia's heart remained calm and she inspected him confidently.
"He's been knocked out," she concluded. "Looks like we have an intruder."
Finally! Some action! She caught herself with this thought and facehoofed. One of her precious Royal Guards had just been attacked and that is what she thought? She took a deep breath. One Royal Guard was down, that meant that the intruder was still here. Whatever monster that invaded her palace could still be attacking her other loyal stallions.
"Though, by the looks of it, the beast does not wish to kill my subjects," she observed. "It wants something different. My stallions are just mere obstacles."
She enveloped the downed Guard with her magic and teleported him to her room, where she knew he would be safe for the time being. Now it was time to find that monster. Her magic pulsed through her horn. The Guards all had their assigned positions. If she could teleport to the spots, she would be able to track the invader's whereabouts based on which Guards were still standing.
She teleported to a room quite close to the throne room. The Royal Guard posted there was awake and fine. With her sudden entry, he gasped and held his spear at her in fear. Upon realizing it was she, he bowed humbly in her wake.
"What brings you here, Your Highness?" He asked.
"The palace has an invader. Alarm the other Guards," She ordered calmly.
"Do you wish to be escorted to your quarters?"
She shook her head. "That would be unnecessary. This warning is for you faithful stallions, not me. I shall seek out the fiend who dare enters our home."
"As you wish! I shall warn the others at once!"
Celestia did not wait for the Royal Guard and teleported away once again. This time she went to one of the guest sections. There she found two knocked out Guards who were posted at the end of the long and thin hallway. From the positions of their bodies, they were fighting the invader but had clearly lost. Burn marks were on their armor and muzzles. Whatever the monster was, it could manipulate magic.
The princess transported these two to the other downed Guard in her quarters. The magical barriers that lined her room would protect them. She then paused, putting together the pieces of her finds. The trail of destruction was leading an odd route through the palace. The intruder did not seem to have a distinct destination. Celestia thought of an important area of the palace that the invader may have been striving for. It was not her room as the monster was going away from that.
"This path leads to the jewel room!" She gasped.
With another quick teleport, she was now close to the jewel room where she kept all the regalia she no longer used. It was a sort of treasury room to everypony else, but to her it was where she kept some of her precious heirlooms that she had gathered throughout the years. The trail of the invader was heading straight for this room, no doubt trying to steal some artifact from inside. The Guards were being put in harm's way, she must find the intruder and stop the mayhem.
She peeked around the corner of a wall. At the end of the short hallway was the vault which led to the jewel room. Since this part of the palace was rarely visited, no torches were lit and the palace was in complete darkness. Well, save for the glowing light at the end of the hallway. Celestia could see a fiery blue light in front of the vault. The intruder was obviously the one creating the light as it was blocking most of it.
The princess started to slowly walk towards the intruder. It was shrouded in a long blackish cloak and had the size of a pony. Not so fierce now. The light was coming from the thief's magic, which was being focused on burning through the vault. I guess it doesn't know that the vault is magic sealed.
Celestia stopped mere feet away from the thief, who was still diligently working on opening the vault. The princess half-wanted to sit there until the burglar noticed her, but at this rate, that may take a long time. So instead she cleared her voice loudly before speaking.
"And what, pray tell, are you doing?" she asked calmly.
The thief stopped with its magic. Like a statue, it froze on the spot. The black hood and cloak kept it hidden from the princess's view. The princess was trying to discern whether it was frightened or planning. Either way, it was taking its time.
"Well? Did you really think you were getting away with this?" Celestia persisted.
"You are supposed to be in bed, princess," a young feminine voice told her from the hood.
"Sorry. Felt like walking about."
"I'll give you the chance to leave unharmed. Go now and let me work," the girl growled.
"Ha! Come on, did you really think I'll just leave you to steal my artifacts? I could not care less about the jewels though. However, you have assaulted my loyal stallions. I will not let that go unpunished."
The thief turned around. A small glowing horn protruded the hood, giving the only light available. She was a young unicorn. Her fur was a light burnt orange and her mane was red with striking yellow beside it. Turquoise eyes were squinting meanly at the princess. It was not the face of one who would have knocked out so many Guards.
"You are quite young to be so bold," Celestia observed. "And don't think I am not aware that you are hiding something. Your horn is clearly showing that you are levitating something behind you."
The thief said nothing and levitated a large red gem to her front. She broke in! Celestia was shocked by the unicorn's efficiency. She had believed that vault impenetrable. The young unicorn grinned upon seeing Celestia's gaping mouth.
"Oh, was I not supposed to break into that vault so easily? Sorry about that, princess," the thief winked.
Suddenly, with a bright greenish flash, the thief teleported on the other side of Celestia. The princess turned quickly to see the unicorn run off with the gem. Teleportation too? With a snort, she chased after the thief through the dark halls.
"Get back here! You can't escape!" she shouted.
The thief took a turn and ran even faster. Celestia's longer legs and years of endurance kept her close to the bold unicorn. That hall leads to a dead end closet. With this in mind, she charged a light stun spell and rounded the corner. Like she had expected, the thief was trapped at the end of the small hallway.
"I apologize for this, but you did not come peacefully."
Celestia launched the spell at the girl. As the small ball of energy was hurled through the air, the thief raised a bubble shield just in time to deflect it harmlessly at a wall. Celestia stomped her hoof in frustration. She is made of tougher stuff. The thief then prepared one of her own spells and fired it. A large ball of fire was flung through the tight hall, lighting everything it touched in flames. Of course, for Celestia, this was a simple spell to deflect with her own protective bubble, but the fact that it came from such a young unicorn left her amazed.
"Well, aren't you talented," she told the thief.
"You've seen nothing yet!"
The thief teleported again, but this time Celestia took hold of her when she appeared behind her. The tight magical grip kept the burglar suspended in the air. Whew, that saved some time. The unicorn began to struggle to get free, but it was no use.
"Now what do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" Celestia asked playfully.
"Let me go!"
"C'mon, you can think of something better than that."
The princess brought the thief close to her face, which also meant the unicorn was more than a couple of feet off the ground. With the hood down and with the moonlight striking the thief's face, Celestia could inspect her better. The unicorn was no more than a teenager. Her horn, muzzle, and legs had not fully formed yet. Her cutie mark was that of a burning sun of red and yellow.
"Now, thief, as Princess of Equestria, I shall place you under arrest for breaking and entering, assaulting members of authority, stealing, and resisting arrest. Oh, it's been so long since I ever arrested anypony. I actually have to thank you for this chase tonight. It's good to keep some of the rust off."
"Go to Tartarus!"
The thief's horn glowed brightly and a pool of fire erupted beneath Celestia's hooves. The flames scorched her elegant legs and made her scream in agony. Her magic let go of the thief who began to run off again. The princess flew up in the air to escape the fire and blew out her flaming fur, leaving black patches on her legs.
The thief saw her in pain and laughed. "Sorry it had to be this way, princess!" and with a mocking salute of her hoof, she ran through a door and out of the room.
Celestia was not about to give up so easily. Her large wings allowed her to soar through the halls and towards the door. With a force of a manticore, she slammed through the door. To her surprise, the thief was already in combat again, but this time it was with the Royal Guards.
"Get her!" they shouted.
The thief summoned a wall of flames to protect her and she fired at them with magical lasers. Some of the brave stallions leaped through the tall flames and tackled her, only to be thrown off again by her magic. She's incredible. The princess paused to watch the chaos in front of her. Her stallions were being harmed, burned, and knocked out! She had to stop it now. Harnessing her magic, she created a beam of intense light to fall upon the unicorn, blinding her with the flash. The burglar shouted in pain as she started to wobble about from the stunning effect. Her flames disappeared and the Guards tackled her with the first opportunity.
"No! Get off me!"
She fired some random lasers at the ceiling, but it was no use. The Royal Guards pinned her legs down and kept her face flat in the stone floor. Every time she summoned her magic, they would simply tap her horn and interrupt the spell. Celestia sighed and approached the restrained attacker.
"Young lady, you are in big trouble," Celestia told her sternly.
The thief, still blind, gave a defeated sigh. Her vibrant mane was all ruffled and her fur even more so. A moment of silence followed afterwards as all the small fires around the palace and scorched marks retold the story of the fight that had just taken place.
The Guards lifted the thief to her hooves and dragged her away. Celestia sighed deeply once more as she watched the unicorn's life be thrown away because of her poor choices. At such an early age too. She shook her head. The light that entered from the stain glass window covered the battle scene. The princess solemnly gazed up at the window which depicted a wizard of old rebuilding a city in love and care. He was talented with magic. He knew he was gifted and he used it to help ponies. Truly admirable.
Celestia's eyes widened. The thief was also clearly magically talented. The spells she cast were all above the apprentice level and some even expert. She was so young too. Celestia had not even taught a unicorn that much at that age. They come once in a hundred years.
"I can't let her be wasted on her poor choices. She's a gifted unicorn. What ruler would I be if I let this opportunity slip by? She's a pony! Her life matters at least this much."
She was about to turn and run after the Guards, but a stinging pain urged her not too. She now remembered she was covered in burn marks and scratches. She can wait a night I guess. With that, Celestia took the first of many painful steps to her room. It was a rough night indeed, but she hoped that it was the start of something that would be worthwhile.
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I love this story and its title's song!
7048565 Thanks! Glad ya like it mate!
Let's be honest, who doesn't picture a Sunset PMV every time they hear FoB singing the title song? A different twist on how Sunset became Celestia's student, other than the School of Gifted Unicorns or nobility — something I've wanted to read! I enjoy you dipping into Celestia's more "playful" side for lack of a better word...I think it will be fun to see how you use Celestia to a Sunset who's already angry and resentful towards her, not one who sees her as a goddess or someone to impress. Well done so far, I'm looking forward to more!
7048649 The song did completely inspire this. I've always affiliated the song with Sunset.
Don't worry, that's exactly what ya gonna get!
there's some basic spelling and grammar mistakes, but this has promise.
dialogue feels off, though. kinda stilted and unnatural.
still, I'm looking forward to more!
7048704 Could you pm me the mistakes? I read over this like six times.
Well... I've seen a few backstories for Sunny, but this is the first to have her as a thief. Breaking in Celestia's personal vault, talk about on he'll of an entrance exam.
Excellent start, the only nit pick I have is Celestia being affected by the fire spell, but that is just me being nit picky and otherwise doesn't distract from the story.
Oh, I thought you were talking about the closet of crown jewels until you mentioned the magically sealed door.
Also, check where you used italics, you'll catch something you missed first time round.
7048892 Uhh....I'm not sure what ya talking about.
7048837 Well, that's one of the reasons I thought of this story. I was like "has anyone ever made her into a thief? It would explain how she knew how to infiltrate the Crystal Palace in the first Equestria Girls." So, this plus the song by Fallout Boy, and ya get this.
Eh, some burn marks aren't gonna stop this princess. Just maybe some.
So this story is the rise and fall of Sunset Shimmer. I am eagerly awaiting your take on Sunset Shimmer's story!
7048973 But more about her rise than anything else.
7048938
As I said it was just me nit picking, I have my reasons but that is headcanon.
7048938 The italics are Celestia's thoughts correct? then like speech, they should be their own paragraphs...of course, that's just my personal preference.
7049033 Ah, I see. Yes, they are Celestia's thoughts. I've never seen them have their own paragraphs before. Perhaps that is a mistake of the masses. But the sudden and quick thoughts from the princess are going to be common as this story leans more of Celestia's perspective than it does Sunset's.
Bravo.
Nice start
Why do I have the feeling this is foreshadowing something?
Could be nice, but... blah. I'll read it once it gains its third chapter.
I can really picture it.
Good prologue.
I'm just wondering how any unicorn could manage to even slightly hurt Celestia, but maybe it's because she is a bit sleepy and not in training (I mean, when did she have her last confontation?).
One small note:
You forgot to add the cover-source.
7049936 Perhaps Sunset is not an average unicorn. I mean, that's the whole reason why Celestia is even thinking of taking care of her. Sunset has already proven herself that she is above most unicorns. She cracked a magic-sealed vault and was only beat when Celestia intervened in the fighting.
7049797 Well, that won't be a long wait. Already got that chapter written.
7049762 Well, to the show and this story, yeah, I can see lots of foreshadowing.
Daaaw! Makes me think of Jason Todd from Batman
7050155 Hopefully it doesn't end the same way
This story is cool. Have an upvote
Also, dat title tho.
(Yes, I'm FOB fangirl
)
7050304 Thanks! Hopefully you like the rest too!
The smell is to powerful its knocking me out. What did Celestia eat?
On a more serious/ not spelling related note I would have to say I enjoyed reading this first chapter. I do hope you could explain the levels of Magic and how each level can affect the unicorn casting it and the outside world ect.
7050420 Knowing Celestia, it was probably cake.
Want to know about all the magic? Go watch the show.
Oh....oh wait....Yeah, guess there have to be some mentioning....right...
Clicked for the FOB reference, stayed for the story.
7050537 My plan worked
A fresh take on Sunny Shimsham's backstory?
Please, do continue.
Hmmm you have peaked my interest good Sir. Quite an interesting take on Bacon heads back story, so far I really like it. keep up the good work
7050868 The freshest of takes.
7051024 Your comment reminded me of delicious bacon. I'll be back later
7051171
Ohoho.
7050172 Maybe you should have a vote from the readers
Haven't seen this kind of origin story for Sunset before. She certainly acts like EQ1 Sunset, but even worse. Celestia is in for an uphill battle if she's going to make friends with somepony like that. Looking forward to more chapters, hopefully Sunset won't be that mean all the time.
relevant:
7051627 She's gonna be so full of teenager angst, you won't even believe it. It'll make ya head spin!
7051645 Well, only relevant by the song.
YEEEEAAAAAAAH!!!!! FOB IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS!!!!!!
7051684 WHY ARE WE SHOUTING!??!?!
I'm surprised that title got by...
7051966 Well, that's whole song lyrics in the story. This is simply a title not in the story. I'm sure there is a lot of stories on this site with titles from songs. (and besides, "raising some like a phoenix" is not exclusive to Fallout Boy.)
NOPONY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION7051717
7053897 Oh no! They're here!
7053935 ITS ALL OVER!!!
Definitely worth following - can't wait to see how this progresses
Hey I just wanted to give you a heads up you have a double 'her' in this line.
She now wished the place was complex so that it would be hard to end up at her her throne which was nothing more to her than a simple desk.
just hoping to help , :D
I could NOT care less
"could care less" makes as much sense as saying
"Mr. X nodded in complete, 100% agreement. He could agree more."
John Cleese rants about "could care less"
it was her
magicaly
7184692 First one, alright, that's a mistake (though you didn't need to send one of my favorite comedians after me), the other two are not.
One was thought dialogue, so mistakes are allowed there. It's purposely not completely correct.
"She" and "her" are actually interchangeable. It is simply less common the former way. She is a subject, her is an object. It's simply less common to say "it was she" even though that was once the common way of speaking.
Celestia is OP in my books.
Don't you mean grown yet? Saying formed makes it sound like she's some sort of walking, talking, still-in-progress fetus. Icky yucky squicky.
I think I'm getting too used to reading fics written by people who tend towards being long-winded and using Fun Big Words because this felt very rushed and half-baked, and the descriptors could have been better as a whole. And Celestia seemed a bit out-of-character, but don't quote me on that.
It's still a cute idea for Sunset's background, though.